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Keith C. Bendall: Keith C. Bendall is Technical Business Development Manager with Columbia Metals Ltd, Earls Barton, Northamptonshire, UK
Copper-base alloys are widely specified by designers of critical equipment/components for fixed wing and other aircraft. Such equipment, for example landing gear, is usually safety critical and copper alloys can offer the balance of properties - high strength, toughness, corrosion resistance and other features which will be described later - needed for long-term safe aircraft operation.
Columbia Metals Limited has been supplying high performance alloys, of various types, for aircraft and aerospace applications, for nearly 40 years, and in particular possesses a great depth of knowledge and experience in the provision of high integrity copper alloys to all the major manufacturers in this industry sector. Supply of materials for the demanding applications involved in the aircraft and aerospace sector must only be undertaken by companies capable of working to the highest possible standards of quality assurance and levels of quality control. Columbia Metals has its quality systems approved by BSI QA to BS EN ISO 9002:1994 for its stockholding branches throughout the UK. In fact, the Company operates a quality assurance system which involves stringent measures taken to ensure the integrity and traceability of material from original source to final delivery to the user which exceed the requirements of BS EN ISO 9002. Other Quality Assurance approvals held by the Company include Civil Aviation Authority, Rolls-Royce plc, British Aerospace plc, Royal Ordnance, Westland Aerospace and Messier Dowty.
Copper alloys
Aircraft equipment designers often require to specify materials that provide a set of properties and features/benefits which are specifically tailored to meet their needs. Over the past half century and more, much time and expenditure has been devoted to the development of copper alloys which provide for these needs. The rapid advances in metallurgical and corrosion engineering knowledge has accelerated this work. Other major industries, for example naval shipbuilding and offshore oil and gas, have many uses for high performance copper alloys and in some cases alloys developed for the specific needs of these industries have made available materials with attractive property combinations for aircraft equipment construction. By way of example, high strength precipitation hardening cupronickel is used for components in weapons-handling systems and bow plane control...